Clippers Picked Off by Bucks

The dark cloud that hovers over the Clippers got a little darker Tuesday night.

With power forward Maurice Taylor already out because of a foot sprain, the Clippers lost another leader when Derek Anderson suffered a mild concussion early in the fourth quarter of a 101-93 defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks before 12,465 at the Bradley Center.

Anderson was on his way to a career game when a hard pick set by Danny Manning floored him.

Whether it was running the floor, knocking down jump shots or slashing inside, the Bucks didn’t have an answer for Anderson, who had 27 points on 11-of-21 shooting.

Then disaster struck in the form of a Manning shoulder.

“This was [a winnable game] . . . but there’s always something,” said a groggy Anderson, who is out for tonight’s game at Minnesota but hopes to play Friday at Toronto.

“Mo gets hurt, we go down. I get knocked out, we lose. We have to just pull together and stay together, it’s a long season.”

When Anderson was hurt, the Clippers (1-6) had the Bucks (5-3) sweating. Despite receiving a strong night from its three stars, Glenn Robinson, Sam Cassell and Ray Allen, Milwaukee led only 74-71 and the Clippers’ confidence was growing.

Manning didn’t have one of his best games with four points and four fouls, but it wouldn’t be surprise if he got a game ball.

“I wasn’t trying to hurt him, it was a good pick,” Manning said. “They called a foul when he hit the ground.”

Just as they did when Taylor was hurt Sunday at Vancouver, the Clippers quickly fell apart. Four consecutive turnovers by the Clippers helped Milwaukee open up an 86-73 lead.

But unlike Vancouver, where the Clippers eventually lost by 20 points, the Clippers bounced back and displayed some heart. With Eric Murdock running the point, they responded and made it close down the stretch.

Murdock, who finished with 13 points, teamed with Lamar Odom (22 points, 10 rebounds and five assists) and Brian Skinner (17 rebounds, 10 points and four blocked shots) to help the Clippers close within 96-93 with 2:17 remaining.

“Even though we battled back and played hard, we dug ourselves too deep of a hole,” Murdock said.

Milwaukee simply had too much firepower in Robinson and Allen, who combined for 12 consecutive points to make sure the Clippers never regained the lead.

“They’ve got some pretty good players with a lot of athleticism,” said Robinson, who had 24 points and 10 rebounds. “We wanted to go out, play smart and take control.”

He wouldn’t admit it, but Clipper Coach Chris Ford really wanted to beat Milwaukee, where he coached for two season before being fired after the 1997-98 season.

Instead, he has to wonder why his team has suddenly gone ice cold. The Clippers shot 38.9% from the field and made only 16 of 26 free throws, compared to Milwaukee’s 50% and 20 of 24.

It was the seventh consecutive time the Clippers failed to reach 100 points and third time in their last four games they failed to shoot better than 41%.

“We just can’t down our shots,” Ford said. “D.A. [Anderson] had a hot hand for a while and Eric [Murdock] gave us relief off the bench but we are not making our open jumpers.” There were some positives against the Bucks for the Clippers.

Skinner, who didn’t start in place of Taylor because Ford wanted to keep him coming off the bench, continues to impress with his roughneck style inside. He was a force on both ends of the court and finished with a career night rebounding.

There also was the play of Odom, who battled Robinson, Manning and at times 6-foot-11 center Ervin Johnson.

“Our guys gave me about as much as they possibly can give me as far as effort,” Ford said. “I told them that I was very proud of their effort being short-handed without Mo and then D.A.”